Ebony Maw held the crimson gem in his fingers.
The red halo refracted mottled light and shadows within the bedchamber, illuminating his noseless face.
"You claim to be the one in the Nine Realms who understands the Aether Particle best," Ebony Maw said, turning his head to look at Malekith, who had collapsed on the stone floor, "yet you do not even know how to mobilize its power."
Malekith glared at Ebony Maw:
"That is the sacred relic of our Dark Elves!"
Malekith roared, "Give it back to me!"
His voice echoed through the vast palace hall, carrying a hoarse tremor.
Ebony Maw did not answer.
He merely looked at the gem in his hand, his right index finger tracing lightly through the void.
Malekith turned his gaze toward the Cursed Warrior not far away.
"Kill him!" Malekith said, pointing at Ebony Maw, "Take the sacred relic back!"
The Cursed Warrior swung his only remaining left arm in the air, his knuckles making a dull sound.
The stone floor beneath his feet shattered instantly under the immense pressure, turning into countless tiny stone fragments. With a low roar, his massive body transformed into a black shadow and charged toward Ebony Maw.
Malekith struggled to stand up and lunged at Ebony Maw.
Facing their pincer attack, Ebony Maw simply stood his ground, his right index finger swiping gently downward.
The red light of the Reality Stone expanded in an instant, forming a curtain of red light.
As soon as Malekith's feet touched that curtain of light, his thigh bones emitted a continuous series of crisp cracks.
Without any external impact, his legs rotated three times within the curtain of light at an irregular angle, and then the muscles and skin of his entire thighs were torn apart, breaking into several pieces.
The lower half of the Cursed Warrior also fell into the curtain of light.
His thick leg bones snapped instantly, and black blood sprayed from the broken wounds, landing on the red curtain of light with a hissing sound.
Their upper bodies fell from the air and slammed heavily onto the stone floor.
Their lower limbs had completely vanished into the distorted space, leaving only their upper torsos wriggling on the ground.
Thor was startled at the sight; his knuckles gripping mjolnir turned slightly white from the force, and tiny blue electric arcs danced across his body.
Frigga stepped back, blocking the entrance to Odin's bedchamber.
Her hands were hidden within her wide sleeves, her ten fingers changing hand seals at an extremely fast speed, and the magic energy in the air began to converge toward her.
Ebony Maw's gaze passed over Thor and Frigga, landing on Peter.
"Let me be merciful and tell you one last fact," Ebony Maw said, raising his right hand and pointing his index finger at Peter,
"My true goal is actually not the Reality Stone, or rather, not just the Reality Stone, but also... you!"
Peter stood where he was, his hands still in his pockets.
He looked at Ebony Maw, his body showing no signs of tension.
"Did Thanos send you to find me?" Peter asked.
Ebony Maw held the Reality Stone in his palm, the red light shining through the gaps between his fingers.
"The great Master noticed your actions on Earth," Ebony Maw said, "Being able to annihilate five Chitauri Leviathan ships single-handedly, and subsequently defeating the God of Fear—the existence of a guy like you in this World is not conducive to our subsequent plans."
As he spoke, Ebony Maw's right hand clenched tightly.
The red light of the Reality Stone erupted instantly, turning into circles of red ripples that spread outward at an extremely fast speed.
The space around Peter began to fluctuate violently like the surface of water the moment it made contact with the red ripples.
His body appeared refracted within the ripples, and the lines of his arms and legs began to become irregular.
Loki lay on the ground, his hands clutching his own throat, blue light flickering in his eye sockets before fading out completely.
He gasped for air, watching the scene before him.
"Damn it..." Loki whispered, "You bunch of lunatics."
Ebony Maw adjusted his collar with his left hand, his movements elegant and slow.
"Rulers of Asgard," Ebony Maw said, "You should feel fortunate. If it weren't for the Master's command, this gem would have reduced the entire Heavenly Palace to dust today."
Malekith crawled on the ground, leaving a long trail of blood.
He reached for Ebony Maw's boot with his only remaining right arm, but his fingers were repelled by an invisible red barrier ten centimeters away from the boot.
"You... liar..." Malekith's voice had become extremely weak.
Ebony Maw did not even look down at him.
He simply raised the Reality Stone above his head.
The red light completely enveloped Peter along with Malekith and the Cursed Warrior; meanwhile, the entire space began to visibly collapse into a funnel shape.
Peter raised his right hand, attempting to grasp something in his pocket, but his movements became extremely slow in the distorted space.
"It is useless," Ebony Maw said, "In the face of reality modification, your physical strength has no meaning."
Frigga's ten fingers stopped changing.
A golden circular magic circle appeared out of thin air ten centimeters beneath Peter's feet.
The runes on the magic circle emitted a soft golden light, attempting to forcibly hold onto Peter's body as it collapsed downward.
"Asgardian magic?" Ebony Maw said, "In the face of the Universe's primal power, this is merely a child's trick."
He applied slight pressure with the fingers holding the gem.
The red ripples crashed against the golden magic circle.
The runes on the magic circle stopped rotating instantly, then emitted a crisp sound, turning into countless golden fragments that dissipated into the air.
Frigga's body jolted violently, her face turning even paler, and she stumbled back three steps, her back hitting the stone door of Odin's bedchamber.
Thor let out a roar, raising mjolnir high and attempting to charge toward Ebony Maw, but the red light formed a red wall in front of him, forcibly blocking him out. Lightning struck the red wall, only stirring up circles of red ripples.
Peter's body was completely deformed by this point.
His head was stretched by half a meter in his vision, and his legs were compressed into a single point. Yet the expression on his face remained calm, and he had not even closed his eyes.
"Is this the power of the Reality Stone?" Peter's voice came from the distorted space, the sound refracted by the space, becoming extremely strange and hollow.
Ebony Maw did not read the hidden emotion in Peter's words; a smile belonging solely to a victor slowly appeared on his ugly face.
"Farewell, Peter Parker."
The moment his words fell, the red light suddenly contracted, turning into a black-red speck of light.
Subsequently, the speck of light dissipated completely, and where Peter had stood previously, only a void remained...
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